Wouter van Twiller

Wouter van Twiller (22 May 1606-29 August 1654) was Director of New Netherland from 1633 to 1638, succeeding Sebastiaen Jansen Krol and preceding Willem Kieft.

Biography
Wouter van Twiller was born in Nijkerk, Netherlands in 1606, the nephew of Kiliaen van Rensselaer. He made two voyages to New Nteherland before being appointed Director in 1633, and he purchased Governors Island from the Lenape for two axe heads, a string of beads, and some iron nails. He was never able to oust the newly-arrived New England settlers from the Connecticut valley, but he defended the Dutch territory in the Delaware River valley by capturing a shipload of intended settlers from Virginia and expelling soldiers who had taken Fort Nassau. In 1638, Willem Kieft succeeded Van Twiller as Director, and Van Twiller died in Amsterdam in 1654.